Cornish Pasties

Have you ever heard of Cornish Pasties before? I have, but I have never tried a real one before. My friend Jan makes pasties, but they are very, very different than the “official” Cornish Pasties served all over Britain! When I started looking for Scottish foods that would be perfect for a picnic, pasties popped into my head immediately. They are several stories about the origins of pasties that date back to the 14th century…..

As one story goes, they were made for the miners in Cornwall to take to work each day. They are easy to hold, are good served warm or cold, and hold up well while being transported. Other stories claim that they were eaten by the poorer working families who could only afford cheap ingredients. Either way, they are delicious!

In 2011 Cornish Pasties were given PDO status in Europe. The official recipe states that they must be filled with beef, sliced or diced potato, swede {also known as a yellow turnip or rutabaga}, onion, seasoned with salt and pepper, and baked. So my recipe will not pass the test in Europe because of the herbs and Worcestershire sacue, but I am in the US so I am not all that worried about it, lol.

Start by making the shortcrust pastry in a large bowl or a food processor…..

Pulse in the food processor, or use a pastry cutter until mixture forms small crumbles. Gradually add ice water to form a ball…..

My dough was actually too dry, I am always so paranoid about making it too wet, so you really want it to hold together and form a ball. It makes it much easier to roll out. 😉

Place dough on a well floured work surface and lightly knead to form a smooth, firm dough…..

Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

While the dough is chilling, make the filling. Place the beef, onion, potato, turnip, herbs, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper in a large bowl and stir to thoroughly combine…..

Notice the size of my chopped turnip {the yellow chunks}, they are too big! You want the potato, turnip and beef to be the same size so they cook more evenly than mine did. 😉

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat liner and set aside. Cut dough into 6 pieces and roll each out on a floured surface into 8″ inch circles……

Divide the filling, and place in the center of each dough circle. Brush the edges with beaten egg…..

Place a piece of butter in the center of each pasty and fold side over. Crimp edges to seal and place on prepared baking sheet…..

If your dough is too dry, it will crack like mine did…but it still works!! Cut slits in the top of each pasty and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown and vegetables are tender when pierced with a knife…..

I had to bake mine longer to get the turnips tender, and that overcooked the beef. Live and learn, right? Or we can just stare at this month’s celebrity date, and we really won’t care if they are overcooked or not…..

Yummy!! I can’t read that little circle in the corner, but I think this is an ad for Hugo Boss Woman.

During my research I also found two different ways of making these pasties. Mine, like the official Cornish version, are folder over and crimped on the side in a “D” shape. The Devon pasties are crimped on along the top. My dough was on the dry side, so I decided not to attempt a top crimp. Maybe next time.

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Comments

Not only does your food always look good, but you make me laugh out loud — too funny staring at the Hugo man:) My daughter came back talking about pasties after spending a semester in England. No wonder they taste good — that’s a lot of butter. Who doesn’t love butter, beef and salt? Great recipe for a cold day.

These look nice! There are plenty of traditionalists here in Cornwall who would probably get grumpy about these being called “Cornish Pasties” when they aren’t hand crimped and contain Italian parsley and Worcestershire sauce, but personally I believe proper pasties should be made to personal taste anyway!

BTW if the reason you’re sealing the edges like that is you find that the short pastry is too crumbly to hand crimp here’s a tip for you – replace half for your flour with strong bread flour OR knead it very briefly (2 mins tops) to release some of the gluten. That will make it nice and pliable and you’ll be able to get a nice neat crimp without making the pastry tough!

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Hi, my name is Lisa and I love to cook. Sometimes healthy, sometimes indulgent, always delicious! Come join me for a cooking adventure that will have you drooling and learning some cooking tips along the way. Read More…